gogo,
Question: Did you remove all the tupperware yourself in order to paint it red?
Could you elaborate a bit on the process involved in stripping it down and the cost to paint it that red color. Thanks, Jaqen

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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats" H.L. Mencken
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gogo,
Question: Did you remove all the tupperware yourself in order to paint it red?
Could you elaborate a bit on the process involved in stripping it down and the cost to paint it that red color. Thanks, Jaqen

The paint, and all the work involved in it was performed by the dealer we purchased it from http://www.vespaso.com/.

He did a superb job and is a super-nice guy. David Meyer is the fellow to speak to.

took the treefitty in for its first service. man, every time i ride it, i'm shocked at what an angry little wolverine of an engine it has. i've learned to adore the aggressive engine braking. i swear, it never stops being a blast -- in downtown or on exurban roads!

took the treefitty in for its first service. man, every time i ride it, i'm shocked at what an angry little wolverine of an engine it has. i've learned to adore the aggressive engine braking. i swear, it never stops being a blast -- in downtown or on exurban roads!

They did my first service while I waited and I was floored by how much oil the final drive contains....darn near as much as the engine on my Vespa 250 holds.

I'm sure that accounts for a lot of the smoothness of the power delivery and YES its a darn fine and capable scooter.

I'm averaging just around 64 mpg on mine, quite pleased with that but that fuel gauge....I call it a "guess gauge".

The seat AND the plastics are available, OEM from Piaggio. Those are OEM parts neither re-covered, nor painted.

Thanks go, think I'll give your man there David a call and just order me up one just like yours, I'm over here in Irvine about 35 miles from you, maybe we could meet up someday at Hell's Kitchen and show those Harley guys what real bikes look like.

__________________
"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats" H.L. Mencken
_____________________________________________

Thanks go, think I'll give your man there David a call and just order me up one just like yours, I'm over here in Irvine about 35 miles from you, maybe we could meet up someday at Hell's Kitchen and show those Harley guys what real bikes look like.

That sounds good.

I know Irvine....grew up in El Toro (yeah, about a hundred years ago when it was called El Toro) and the Ortega is a great ride!

How do you and the seat get along? (Im having my bolster shaved...errr, my seat's bolster)

Funny you should ask. I get saddle sore after about 150 miles, so I have been considering Airhawk or other solutions. I never thought about shaving the bolster. I would hate to commit to that without a guaranty that it would really improve things. I may just stick to the Airhawk idea. I'll be curious to see how yours turns out

Funny you should ask. I get saddle sore after about 150 miles, so I have been considering Airhawk or other solutions. I never thought about shaving the bolster. I would hate to commit to that without a guaranty that it would really improve things. I may just stick to the Airhawk idea. I'll be curious to see how yours turns out

The shaved bolster is an 80% improvement, but I'm now taking it to the next level. Full bolsterectomy, and recover. (Have an 800 mile weekend on it coming up)

Try removing the bolster completely (3 bolts underneath) and ride it. Oooh lala what a difference. Seriously, give it a try....cost zero and no commitment and you'll at least have a direction you want to pursue. The scoot's a mile-eater in every other respect IMO.

my GOD this is a ridiculously fun scoot. it's amazing what a little extra hp can do for even a scooter

edit: i broke a personal rule ("never let anyone get on yer bike") and let an old-school gs-ridin' pal tool around on it for a spell after he refused to believe it wasn't "totally gutless." he came back after an hour with a HOLY SHIT, YOU FUCKER WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THEY MADE SCOOTERS RIDE LIKE BIKES THESE DAYS to which i said "because you hate scooters and now you're totally a sissy too"

my GOD this is a ridiculously fun scoot. it's amazing what a little extra hp can do for even a scooter

edit: i broke a personal rule ("never let anyone get on yer bike") and let an old-school gs-ridin' pal tool around on it for a spell after he refused to believe it wasn't "totally gutless." he came back after an hour with a HOLY SHIT, YOU FUCKER WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THEY MADE SCOOTERS RIDE LIKE BIKES THESE DAYS to which i said "because you hate scooters and now you're totally a sissy too"

That's funny and you're responsible for HIS sissification now.
I hope you can live with yerself....

The shaved bolster is an 80% improvement, but I'm now taking it to the next level. Full bolsterectomy, and recover. (Have an 800 mile weekend on it coming up)

Try removing the bolster completely (3 bolts underneath) and ride it. Oooh lala what a difference. Seriously, give it a try....cost zero and no commitment and you'll at least have a direction you want to pursue. The scoot's a mile-eater in every other respect IMO.

I just ordered an Airhawk, but I like the bolster removal idea. Removed it on my Honda PCX150, and it helped that scoot. My group rode to Mt. Baldy and he had an Airhawk on his Burgman and let me try it on my BV. Nice! Mine should be here by Wednesday. I also have a big weekend. I'm heading your way actually. Have a friend in Temecula, but my whole group is heading to AmeriVespa, but before AmeriVespa, 3 or 4 of us (all from LA) are heading down to Vespa Motorsports San Diego. I'd love to rendezvous with you at AmeriVespa if you're going. BV350 riders UNITE!